EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Odell Beckham Jr. says his decision to skip voluntary workouts had nothing to do with his contract. The New York Giants star receiver simply wanted to train on his own, reflect on life and take time to "grow and mature."

The three-time Pro Bowl receiver joined teammates Tuesday for the start of a mandatory three-day minicamp. He saw limited action in the 1-hour, 40-minute workout and dropped one deep ball.

From the time he hit the field, it seemed his every move was studied by reporters, photographers and video crews. He was relaxed after practice and hedged several times when asked about his contract.

Beckham is one of the NFL's top receivers and he will earn $1.8 million in this his fourth season, much less than some receivers who are far less productive. The Giants picked up the option on his fifth year for $8.4 million in 2018.

"I have seen a holdout and all that stuff and I have really never seen it work, so that was never in my mind to: `I'm not going to go to OTAs to get a new contract,'" Beckham said. "I don't really think that proves a point in my opinion.

"So I was out there (on the West Coast) really taking the time for myself to reflect on life and values and what's really, really important," he said. "Like I said to grow and mature" (see full story).

He isn't worried about his throwing shoulder, the Colts owner doesn't seem to be and those inside the organization continue to believe Luck will soon be back to work.

Five months after undergoing surgery for a partially torn labrum in his right shoulder, Indianapolis' franchise quarterback said Tuesday he is eager to begin the next step in his recovery -- throwing a football.

"It's not fun to stand on the sidelines, but I understand when you have a surgery you understand what goes into that decision the consequences of that, especially with that you're going to miss parts of that for rehab," Luck said as the Colts opened a three-day mandatory minicamp.

"Certainly there's an urge (to throw), but that's not part of the protocol," he added later.

Coach Chuck Pagano and others inside the organization remain hopeful all that changes when training camp opens July 29 (see full story).

Patriots: Edelman not slowing down after extensionFOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Julian Edelman is a step closer toward playing his entire NFL career with the New England Patriots.

The 31-year-old receiver confirmed Tuesday that he has signed a contract extension that runs through the 2019 season.

Edelman was one of the heroes of New England's historic Super Bowl comeback win over Atlanta in February, hauling in a juggling fourth-quarter catch to keep the game-tying drive alive.

The play instantly went down in Patriots history, but the gutty 5-foot-11 Kent State player had long established himself as one of quarterback Tom Brady's go-to targets over eight years.

Edelman said he's happy to remain "a Pat" but insisted he isn't thinking about anything beyond the upcoming 2017 season.

"As lame as it sounds and as much as you guys hear it, it's really a mentality where you just keep it day-to-day," he said. "When you can do that, that's usually when you stay focused and you improve the most" (see full story).

Redskins: Williams named senior VP of player personnelASHBURN, Va. -- Once a Super Bowl MVP, Doug Williams waited his entire post-playing career to run a professional team.

"You want this day to come," he said. "When you get up every morning, you hope it'll come."

It's here. The former quarterback is now in charge of the Washington Redskins as senior vice president of player personnel. He's running the show, but Williams made it very clear he's not the general manager.

"We had a general manager -- it didn't work out that well," Williams said Tuesday, referring to the two-year tenure of Scot McCloughan, who was fired in March. "My job is to control (my) hallway. And I think if we do a good job, no matter what happens, we all get credit for what this football team does."

In announcing Williams' promotion from senior personnel executive, team president Bruce Allen said the 61-year-old stood out among more than a dozen internal and external candidates. Allen hired Williams in Tampa Bay and has known him for a long time but said his "plan" made it clear he was the right man for the job that has been done piecemeal for the past few months.

"I was proud of when Doug presented his plan because his vision was a team," Allen said at a news conference. "He was a quarterback again leading a team" (see full story).

Nate Sudfeld has reasons to feel 'very confident' as Eagles' new backup QB

Nate Sudfeld has reasons to feel 'very confident' as Eagles' new backup QB

Nate Sudfeld stood by his locker on Wednesday afternoon, early in his first week as the Eagles' backup quarterback, and claimed his game-day responsibilities won't change. He'll still be helping the starter to see coverages, go through plays and diagnose pressures.

The only difference is he'll now wear a helmet and shoulder pads.

Well, actually, there's one more difference.

"I won't be dead tired when the game starts," Sudfeld said.

During the first 14 weeks of the season, when Sudfeld was the Eagles' third-stringer, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo would put him through an intense 45-minute workout before each game. Sudfeld is grateful for those workouts, which helped him with throwing and footwork, but said DeFilippo "kills" him each week.

Those workouts are over. Because come Sunday, thanks to Carson Wentz's torn left ACL, Sudfeld will be dressing for each game as the Eagles' backup quarterback behind Nick Foles.

He's now just one play away from being the Eagles' starter.

"I feel very confident," Sudfeld said. "I mean, I wasn't just sitting back, watching practice all year, just expecting to never play football. I was definitely getting ready in case something like this happened. It's my responsibility as a 3 to be ready to be a 2. One play away and then one more play away. So I definitely feel prepared being here however many weeks, 14 weeks, has really helped. But I've treated each week as if I was going to play. I feel very confident."

But the difference between Foles and Sudfeld is glaring. Foles has been a starting quarterback in the NFL before and even in Philadelphia (see story). He's been to a Pro Bowl. His experience has been lauded all week (see story).

Meanwhile, Sudfeld is 24. A sixth-round pick to Washington last season, he's never played in an NFL game. Heck, Sunday will be his first time dressing for an NFL game. He didn't even join the Eagles' active roster until early November, when the Birds signed him from the practice squad. And that was just to prevent the Colts from poaching him.

Has the Eagles' faith in him as the backup validated his decision to stay?

"I mean, I've always wanted to be here since I got here so I'm just very excited that they do think enough of me to give me the opportunity," Sudfeld said. "I'm looking forward to if my name does get called, being ready to go."

Since joining the Eagles' active roster, he's been inactive every week. But the fact that they were willing to use a roster spot on him, knowing he would be inactive each week, speaks to the way the organization feels about him.

Foles didn't hesitate during his press conference on Tuesday to include Sudfeld every time he mentioned the quarterback group. The two have grown extremely close during the last few months.

"Nate's a tremendous player," Foles said. "I'm excited about his future. Really smart, works his butt off, he's got all the tools to be a great player in this league. He's been there. I'm always going to include Carson, me and Nate. That's just sort of how it's been every single day going to work. We're going to lean on that. I'm going to lean on Nate through this process and we have the kind of quarterback room where you can do that, so it's sort of awesome. He's a tremendous player and I'm excited about his future in this league."

While not much will change for Sudfeld on game day — unless of course something happens to Foles — his workload during the week is very different. With Foles now taking all of the first-team reps at practice, Sudfeld gets all the scout team reps.

While he got a few scout team reps over the course of the last few months, most of his reps with the Eagles have been mental. Sudfeld has been in the building with Wentz and Foles every day to watch film at 6 a.m., the trio would prep for each team and go through everything together, but when they got onto the practice field, the top two guys got to play and Sudfeld became a spectator.

Fans probably don't know much about Sudfeld. Until this week, there's a good chance most Eagles fans had never even heard of him. Well, Sudfeld was a sixth-round pick out of Indiana last year. He spent the entire 2016 season with Washington, but was cut on Sept. 2. The Eagles signed him to their practice squad the next day.

What kind of quarterback is he?

"It's hard to assess yourself," Sudfeld answered. "I'm very confident in my game and I think I can make all the throws. I think I can move if I have to. I think I know the game pretty well. I'm continuing to improve. I'm a work in progress, but excited what I know I can do."

Perhaps the thing Eagles fans might know best about Sudfeld is that he's tall, white and lanky, and folks would probably say he looked like Wentz if he didn't look exactly like Foles. He and Foles look so much alike that their teammates razz them for it and fans confuse the two (see story).

Just last week in Los Angeles, fans got the two confused. Fans thought Sudfeld was Foles, even though the Real Nick Foles was walking in uniform right in front of him.

When it was pointed out to Sudfeld that no matter how well Foles plays, he'll probably feel it too.

"True," Sudfeld said. "Hopefully he keeps doing what I know he can do so people love me walking down the street."

It's 3rd-and-5 from the Eagles' 30-yard line. Wentz is in shotgun with LeGarrette Blount flanking him. One tight end on the same side. Alshon Jeffery at the top of the screen, Torrey Smith at the bottom. Nelson Agholor (circled) is being given a cushion by Rams cornerback Nickell Roby-Coleman. The aptly named cornerback is the Rams' slot corner in their nickel package.

The running back and tight end stay in to block, which creates a lot of room in the middle of the field for Agholor vs. Roby-Coleman. Wentz is locked in. The Eagles need to get to the 35-yard line for a first down, so Agholor reaches the top of his route at the 39, before cutting back.

You can see there's not much of a window here, but this is a back shoulder throw that has to be perfect.

It's a tight window, and although Wentz hits Agholor in the hands, Roby-Coleman is able to get a paw in there to deflect it to Kayvon Webster, who broke toward the play. Webster picked off the ball on the deflection and the Rams took over in Eagles' territory and scored a few plays later.

This probably looks pretty familiar. It's 3rd-and-8 from the Eagles' 23-yard line. With 1:52 left in a two-point game, they know if they pick up this first down, they can pretty much run down the clock and escape Los Angeles with a win. This is huge.

Same play. This time, Foles is in shotgun with Blount next to him. The tight end on the same side; both will block again. Jeffery and Smith are the wideouts. But we'll focus on Agholor (circled). He's against Roby-Coleman again and has that cushion.

On this particular play, Foles actually threw a better pass than Wentz did in the first quarter. Now, Foles obviously isn't going to be Wentz, but this pass should at least give fans some confidence.

And confidence isn't lacking. At an absolutely pivotal moment of the game, Pederson went back to a play that produced an interception the first time. And he went back to it with his backup quarterback who hasn't really played much all season. It was gutsy, it worked out and it shows the head coach's confidence in his new QB.

On Wednesday, Pederson pointed out Foles and Agholor were able to complete this pass after not working together all week or all season. All those reps have been going to Wentz. Now, Foles will get the chance to work with Agholor and the other starters the rest of the way.